Couples Therapy in Long Beach & Lakewood, CA
If you and your partner keep having the same arguments, if you feel more like roommates than lovers, if you’re questioning whether your relationship can survive—you’re not alone, and there is hope
Relationships take work. Whether you’re facing communication breakdowns, trust issues, intimacy struggles, or simply want to strengthen your bond, couples therapy can help you reconnect and build a healthier partnership.
At Hygieia Behavioral Health Foundation, our licensed marriage and family therapists provide compassionate, non-judgmental couples counseling for all types of relationships in Long Beach, Lakewood, and throughout California. Under the leadership of Dr. Sade Thompson, Doctor of Psychology and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, we help couples find their way back to each other. We offer in-person sessions at our Long Beach and Lakewood offices, and virtual couples therapy throughout California.
When Couples Seek Therapy
- Common Reasons Couples Come to Therapy:
- Communication problems (frequent arguments, shutting down, feeling unheard)
- Trust issues or recovering from infidelity
- Intimacy and sexual concerns (emotional or physical disconnection)
- Conflict over finances or different spending values
- Parenting disagreements or struggles with co-parenting
- Life transitions (moving in together, getting married, having a baby, job changes)
- Cultural, religious, or family differences causing tension
- Feeling disconnected, distant, or like “roommates”
- Considering separation or divorce (discernment counseling)
- Pre-marital counseling (building a strong foundation before marriage)
- Rebuilding after a crisis or major betrayal
You don’t have to be “in crisis” to benefit from couples therapy. Many couples seek counseling proactively to strengthen their relationship before problems become serious.
How Couples Therapy Helps
Couples therapy provides a safe, neutral space to address challenges with professional guidance:
✓ Improve communication - Learn to express needs clearly and listen actively without defensiveness
✓ Rebuild trust - Address betrayal and work toward forgiveness (if both partners are willing and committed)
✓ Resolve conflict - Develop healthy ways to disagree, find compromise, and repair after arguments
✓ Strengthen intimacy - Reconnect emotionally, physically, and sexually
✓ Navigate life transitions - Adapt to major changes together as a team
✓ Understand patterns - Identify cycles and dynamics that keep you stuck
✓ Make decisions - Gain clarity about the future of your relationship
✓ Prevent future problems - Build skills and habits that last beyond therapy
Therapy isn’t about taking sides—it’s about helping both partners feel heard, understood, and supported.
Our Approach to Couples Therapy
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
EFT helps couples understand the emotional patterns beneath their conflicts. By addressing attachment needs and vulnerabilities, partners learn to respond to each other with empathy rather than defensiveness or withdrawal.
Gottman Method
Based on decades of research on what makes relationships succeed or fail, the Gottman Method helps couples build friendship, manage conflict constructively, and create shared meaning. We teach practical skills for navigating disagreements and strengthening connection.
Imago Relationship Therapy
Imago helps partners understand how their upbringing and childhood experiences shape current relationship patterns. By healing old wounds together, couples can create more conscious, loving partnerships.
LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapy
We provide affirming, knowledgeable care for LGBTQ+ couples, understanding the unique challenges related to identity, coming out, family acceptance, navigating heteronormative relationship expectations, and minority stress.
Culturally Responsive Care
Relationships exist within cultural contexts. We honor diverse cultural backgrounds, family systems, relationship structures, and values, recognizing how culture shapes expectations and communication styles.
Insurance & Accessibility
We Accept Most Major Insurance Plans
Couples therapy in Long Beach, Lakewood, and throughout California:
- Aetna
- Anthem Blue Cross & Anthem L.A. Care
- Blue Shield of California & Blue Shield Promise Plan
- Carelon
- L.A. Care (Medi-Cal, Commercial, Medicare)
- United Health Care / Optum
- Tricare West
Note: Insurance coverage for couples therapy varies by plan and provider. Some plans cover it if one partner has a mental health diagnosis; others don’t cover it at all. We’ll help you verify your specific benefits
What to Expect in Couples Therapy
Locations & Virtual Services
Lakewood Office
5150 Candlewood Street, Ste. 18J Lakewood, CA 90712
Long Beach Office (Bixby Knolls)
3811 Long Beach Blvd, Ste. C Long Beach, CA 90807
Serving couples in Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill, Bellflower, Paramount, Downey, and surrounding communities.
Virtual Therapy Throughout California: We offer secure online couples therapy for clients anywhere in California. Virtual sessions can actually reduce scheduling conflicts and make therapy more accessible.
When to Couples Therapy May Not Be Right
Couples therapy isn’t recommended if: - There is active physical violence or abuse (individual therapy for safety planning is recommended first) - One partner is not willing to participate or engage honestly - One or both partners have already decided definitively to divorce and just need logistics support
In these cases, individual therapy may be a better first step. We can help you determine the right approach during a consultation.
Special Situations We Address
- Infidelity and Trust Rebuilding
Affairs are devastating, but some couples can rebuild trust with professional support. We help both partners process betrayal, understand what led to the affair, take accountability, and decide whether reconciliation is possible and desired.
- High-Conflict Relationships
If arguments escalate frequently or feel destructive (contempt, criticism, stonewalling, defensiveness), we teach de-escalation techniques and help you communicate without the patterns that erode relationships.
- Premarital Counseling
Starting your marriage with strong communication, conflict-resolution skills, and aligned expectations sets you up for long-term success. We help engaged couples discuss important topics (finances, children, family roles, conflict styles) and build a solid foundation.
- Intercultural or Interfaith Relationships
When partners come from different cultural, religious, or ethnic backgrounds, differences can create tension. We help couples navigate these challenges while honoring both partners’ identities and creating shared values.
- Intimacy Issues
Sexual and emotional intimacy struggles are common and don’t mean your relationship is doomed. We create a safe space to discuss vulnerability, desire, mismatched libidos, sexual concerns, and connection.
- Blended Family Challenges
Navigating step-parenting, co-parenting with exes, and blending families is complex and stressful. We help couples work together as a unified team while managing the unique challenges blended families face.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is couples therapy just for married couples?
No! We work with couples at any stage—dating, engaged, married, or long-term partners. We also work with LGBTQ+ couples, polyamorous relationships, and non-traditional partnership structures.
What if one partner doesn’t want to come to therapy?
It’s ideal if both partners attend, but if one is hesitant, the other can start individual therapy. Sometimes seeing progress in one partner motivates the other to join. We can also discuss strategies to encourage participation.
Will the therapist take sides?
No. Couples therapists remain neutral and help both partners feel heard and validated. Our role is to facilitate understanding and teach skills, not to judge or determine who’s “right” or “wrong.”
How do we know if our relationship can be saved?
There’s no simple answer. Some couples rebuild after serious breaches of trust like infidelity, while others separate even with smaller issues. Factors that influence success include: both partners’ commitment to change, willingness to take accountability, ability to rebuild trust, and whether fundamental values align. Therapy can help you gain clarity about whether the relationship is salvageable and worth saving.
What if we’re already considering divorce?
Some couples use therapy to explore whether divorce is the right decision (discernment counseling—helping you decide with clarity). Others use therapy to separate more amicably and prepare for healthy co-parenting. Both are valid uses of couples therapy.
How long does couples therapy take?
It varies. Some couples see improvement in 8-12 sessions if they’re addressing specific communication issues. Others need six months to a year to work through deeper patterns, heal from infidelity, or rebuild after crisis. Progress depends on the issues and both partners’ commitment to the work.
Does insurance cover couples therapy?
Coverage varies significantly. Some plans cover couples therapy if one partner has a mental health diagnosis (anxiety, depression); others don’t cover it at all. We’ll help you verify your specific benefits and discuss payment options.
Can we do couples therapy online if we have different schedules?
Yes! Virtual couples therapy throughout California makes it easier to find session times that work for both of you without commute time. Many couples actually prefer virtual sessions for the convenience and privacy.
Invest in Your Relationship
Every relationship goes through rough patches. With the right support, many couples emerge stronger, more connected, and better equipped to handle future challenges. Our therapists in Long Beach, Lakewood, and throughout California are here to help you rebuild.